Kirk and his family are deep in the throes of planning a move to Costa Rica. He shares some of the preparations and the story behind the move in our conversation below.
I am so happy to have you share your dreams with us Kirk! Can you start with a little background about your family and describe your wish to relocate?
My wife and I live in Ottawa. We are in our mid-thirties and have two young boys. In the first part of 2015, the temperature was below -15℃/5°F for 57 days in a row. Our boys were just over 1 and 3 years old at the time. This meant we were stuck indoors as it was just too cold to play outside. Every weekend it was an effort to come up with an indoor activity to get us out of the house and burn off some of the boys’ energy. There are only so many museums, play centres, reptile zoos.
In March, we finally had a day of reasonable weather, and our boys fell asleep in the car on the way back from the Aviation Museum. We sat in the garage for a few minutes, discussing how we were struggling over the winter, and came up with a plan to spend a year in Costa Rica. We set a date: September 2016 (about 18 months away).
Do you want to move temporarily or permanently?
We’re going for about a year, but are open to anything. We’ll let life (jobs, health of extended family members, school dates) dictate the specifics. We’ll be renting out our Ottawa house while we are gone, so we do plan to come back. I have dreams of exploring other locales, but for now, the focus is getting to Costa Rica. After we get there, then we can start thinking beyond that, whether it’s coming back to Ottawa or moving on elsewhere.
Can you explain how you plan on handling immigration concerns and/or working in your new home? What can you tell readers about how you plan to support yourself at your destination?
I’ll telecommute to my current job from Costa Rica. I work from home here in Ottawa. My employer is just a few kilometers away, but it’s just easier on our household if I work from home.
I checked with the Costa Rican embassy here in Ottawa to ask if I would be allowed to telecommute to my current job and they said it was permitted. I plan to apply for Rentista residency (one of the benefits of the application process is the absence of the 90 day limit of the Tourist visa). You can’t move to Costa Rica and take a Costa Rican’s job, so essentially what I am doing is bringing my job with me. From my employer’s perspective, nothing changes. I’ll still be paid into my Canadian bank account.
Other income streams will be rental income from our home in Ottawa, Canada’s Universal Child Care Benefit ($320 per month), and our savings, if required.
Can you compare how you see family life abroad to family life in Canada? What are your plans for schooling your children?
A big part of this move for us is simply avoiding the winter. We just want to be outside every day and not have to worry about the complexities of getting the boys dressed to go outside. Every weekend, we love to get out early to do something with the kids. I can see us exploring rain forests, zoos, beaches, volcanos, towns, parks.
We’ll have the kids in the kindergarten equivalent in Costa Rica, so we’ll have pick up and drop off like here. We think this is a good time to travel with them since they aren’t yet in elementary school.
What about healthcare? Is that a concern?
I’ve heard good things about health care in Costa Rica, so I’m not too concerned. We’ll just have to ensure that the kids can get their vaccinations according to the regular Canadian schedule.
I haven’t looked into a family health plan yet, but I plan to get insurance for our time abroad.
How have you found the planning process?
It was overwhelming at first. There were just too many choices. I was thinking Panama, Costa Rica, Belize, Ecuador or Mexico. I looked into the residency/visa requirements of each, and decided to just make it happen in Costa Rica. To quiet my mind, I just had to narrow it down to the one country. Once that was decided, I began to focus on Tamarindo and Grecia. Again, it was just a matter of reducing my decision points.
What resources can you share with readers?
One of the first books I read was The International Living Guide to Retiring Overseas on a Budget. It provides a good overview of a few places to start considering, as well as how you might afford a life abroad. Other than that, it has mostly boiled down to reading many different blogs and sites, such as the Family Freedom Project and Happier than a Billionaire. There are quite a few blogs written by people living in Costa Rica, but I haven’t seen too many write about the process of moving as it is happening so I have created IWillMoveToCostaRica.com to document my family’s journey.
Following Liisa’s journey on FamilyFreedomProject.com made a move seem even more possible. She was just a couple years ahead of us on the same path: She is from Ottawa, has two boys, and moved to Costa Rica a few years ago.
There are also a few expat groups on FaceBook that are helpful in getting specific questions answered.
How are your language skills? Do you plan to learn or will you try to get by on what you have now?
My English is great, but I’m guessing that is not the question. We don’t know any Spanish. I know some French; my wife knows more, so that helps us a little (just a little) bit. I would like to learn more when we get there, so I might try lessons or programs. I’m sure our kids will pick up a lot if they are in school.
Do you have any additional ideas to share with Family Freedom Project readers?
Last winter, we just felt stuck in the day to day grind, so we decided to make the change. Now, we are so looking forward to it. We realize it might not be better than what we have now, but it will be an adventure.
The title of this blog, Family Freedom Project really captures what we’re trying to accomplish. Our mortgage will be paid off shortly. Even just getting rid of our old CDs, DVDs, books, toys, stereos and other ‘stuff’ that were just taking up space has been freeing. I am also trying to eliminate as much physical mail as I can, so I’m signing up for e-billing wherever I can.
Day by day I’m taking steps to give our family more and more freedom. That freedom will let us choose Costa Rica, Ottawa, or wherever we can think of adventuring to next.
Thank you so much for sharing your story and your preparations with us Kirk. I plan on checking back in with you get further into this adventure. In the meantime, we’ll be sure to follow along on your blog.
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